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"Negligence? More than 800,000 people! How can it be negligent? Fool it! Imperial Foreign Minister Lin Zihao said secretly in his heart. He knew that the Russians were reluctant to raise the issue of prisoners because they were afraid that the Chinese Empire would knock them out. Until now, in the war with the Ottoman Turkish Empire, it has been in an extremely disadvantageous position. That's why I had to ask for the return of those prisoners of war. It is certain that these prisoners of war will be sent to the battlefield when they return to Russia.

It's just that those Russian prisoners of war are now the main labor force on various important construction sites of the Chinese Empire. If they were to be returned to Russia, it would inevitably have a great impact on the construction of various construction sites in the empire. This is related to the economic development of the empire and the preparation for future wars.

"Your Excellency, I already know this question. However, I'm sorry, I can't give you an answer right now, I need to report to His Majesty the Emperor! Lin Zihao said. How to use this opportunity to slaughter the Russians fiercely, this needs to be discussed with the Emperor Long Yufei. However, what is certain is that the Russians took the initiative to send it to the door this time, and the empire will not let go of this rare opportunity.

"All right, Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary. I hope that the Chinese Empire will consider the hard-won peace between our two countries, and understand the feelings of the families of those who are waiting in China for the return of those captured soldiers, so that they can return to China as soon as possible. Minister Putiyatin said. Imperial Foreign Minister Lin Zihao proposed. If he wanted to report this matter to the Emperor Long Yufei, he knew that Russia wanted to ransom those prisoners of war. There will definitely be a huge price to pay.

"Well, Your Excellency!" Lin Zihao nodded. What kind of hard-won peace between the two countries was simply won by the blood and sacrifice of the imperial soldiers. If it weren't for the fact that the army of the empire fought on the battlefield and the Russians cried and cried for their mothers and couldn't find the north, would the Russians have compromised? Will there be a stop to the war with the Chinese Empire? Therefore, what Minister Putiyatin said was bullshit. There are only interests. is the most real.

Minister Putiatin left the Imperial Foreign Ministry with mixed feelings, and he was like a lamb whose fate had been decided, waiting for the butcher's knife of the Chinese Empire to fall. Such a mood. It was indeed a torture. But who told Russia that now it was at a disadvantage and had to turn to the Chinese Empire? This is probably the price after losing on the battlefield!

After Minister Putiyatin left, Imperial Foreign Minister Lin Zihao rushed to the palace. Report the situation to Emperor Long Yufei. Meantime. He also called Prime Minister Li Decheng. We are ready to discuss how we can squeeze more benefits out of the Russians to the greatest extent. After all, such an opportunity is too rare.

"The Russians want these prisoners of war back? It's new, I thought they didn't care about these hundreds of thousands! Long Yufei said with some surprise. After all, the total population of Russia is more than 60 million, in the Western world. No other country can compare with them. These hundreds of thousands of people don't seem to matter. Otherwise. In the last negotiations, the Russians would not have turned a blind eye to these prisoners of war.

"Your Majesty, the Russians are in a hurry now, I think, because they are in a disadvantageous position in the war with the Ottoman Turkish Empire. The elite forces of the Russians were almost wiped out by us, and the Ottoman Turks launched another surprise attack, and the Russians were caught off guard and suffered heavy losses. On the battlefield, the Russian army has been losing ground and has now lost a large number of troops and land. It is estimated that they will not be able to hold on, so they want to redeem these prisoners of war as soon as possible and use them on the battlefield. Foreign Minister Lin Zihao said.

Long Yufei nodded, before, the Military Intelligence Bureau had already reported on the situation in the Russian-Turkish war. The Ottoman Turks picked up a big bargain this time. Their armies were victorious in both the Balkans and the Caucasus. Due to the lack of elite troops and weapons, the Russian army simply could not stop the offensive of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Therefore, this time the Russians are in the strictest crisis.

"Your Majesty, the empire's current infrastructure construction is being carried out at a rapid pace. More than 800,000 Russian prisoners of war have become the main labor force. If they were to be returned to Russia, it would have a serious impact on the construction of the empire. Prime Minister Li Decheng said with a frown.

Several major railway and road lines planned by the empire were of great use in improving transportation from the northern and northwestern parts of the empire, as well as from the Mongolian steppes to the Siberian plain. If the construction period is delayed because of this, it will not only affect the empire's economy, but also affect the empire's response speed in future wars. Now, more than three million people have been involved in the construction of these projects. In addition to the more than 800,000 Russian prisoners of war, there were also more than a million natives captured from the South Seas. The people of the empire were only a small part. In addition, it is mainly engaged in management work or safety work. The more dangerous work was done by indigenous slaves or prisoners of war.

"Well, that's a problem. However, even if the prisoners of war were returned to Russia, we would be able to capture more slaves from the South Seas to ensure the progress of the project. Although the indigenous slaves of the South Seas could not be compared with the Russian prisoners of war. However, several can always be better than the previous one. Long Yufei said. After the empire occupied the entire Southeast Asian region, it never stopped exterminating the local indigenous population. Indigenous slaves were often used in mines and other construction sites. In particular, the monkeys in Indonesia were numerous and had become a major part of the slaves of the empire.

Li Decheng nodded, as long as the construction period can be guaranteed, he has no opinion. Anyway, there are many natives in Nanyang, and the relationship between those natives and immigrants is also relatively bad, and there are often attacks on imperial immigrants. The imperial army stationed in Nanyang also spared no effort to exterminate these natives. However, the South Seas are densely forested, and many indigenous tribes have migrated from the plains to the depths of the forest, which has had some impact on the extermination of the indigenous people by the Empire* army. However, in general, if there is a need for sufficient labor, it is no problem to look for it from those indigenous tribes in the South Seas.

"I will give an order to the troops stationed in Nanyang to capture as many natives as possible and send them to construction sites in various places. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, negotiating with the Russians. If Russia wants to ransom these prisoners of war, we can agree. However, they have to pay enough to do so. It is simply impossible to let the prisoners of war go without spending money. Anyway, we kept these prisoners of war for a few months, and we had to eat a lot of food, and the Russians had to make some compensation to us. Long Yufei said.

"Yes, Your Majesty! However, how much should we ask for? Foreign Minister Lin Zihao asked.

"Well, you can do it! However, more than 800,000 people. If the Russians want to redeem it, the price cannot be less than the war reparations paid to us last time! Long Yufei said with a smile, as if he had seen the mountains of gold nuggets beckoning to him.

"Can't it be less than last time? Your Majesty, can the Russians get that much money? Will they be willing? Prime Minister Li Decheng said in surprise. Last time, it extorted 120 million pounds from the Russians.

Foreign Minister Lin Zihao also nodded, he also believed that even if the Russians had so much money, they would definitely not be willing to pay such a large sum of money to redeem those hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war.

"You underestimate the wealth of the Russian royal family. Last time, they gave us more than nine hundred tons of gold, which is only a fraction of the wealth of the Russian royal family. The wealth accumulated by the Russian royal family over the past few hundred years is absolutely astronomical. It's not good, even the wealth accumulated by the British royal family is not as much as theirs. Therefore, now that the Russians have taken the initiative to send them to the door, we cannot let go of this opportunity, and we have to slaughter them fiercely. In this case, both the funds for domestic construction and the expenses for the development of armaments will be available! ”

Last time, the Imperial Navy spent more than 70 million yuan to build dozens of warships, which made the ministers of the cabinet very painful. It would be nice if it could be recovered from the Russians.

"Lord Lin, it's up to you how much money we can get from the Russians this time!" Li Decheng was full of smiles and looked at Lin Zihao's gaze, just like looking at the God of Wealth.

In fact, the foreign secretary of the empire is indeed the same as the God of Wealth. In all foreign wars, after the victory of the Empire's army, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs slaughtered the enemy several times and gained a lot of wealth for the Empire. It is precisely because of this that the empire has developed so fast. The empire's vast industrial system and army, as well as the network of railways and roads throughout the country, were all piled up with silver! A large part of this money comes from the plundering of defeated countries. And the Reich Ministry of Foreign Affairs, undoubtedly played the role of a predator in it.

"Prime Minister, I'll do my best." Lin Zihao felt tremendous pressure. However, for the sake of the empire, he must also rise to the occasion.

Anyway, this time the empire was in a good position, and it was the Russians who were in a hurry to redeem the prisoners of war. Then, the empire can just wait for the price to be sold. Take this opportunity to stab the Russians fiercely.

The next day, December 27, 1847, the Imperial Foreign Minister Lin Zihao formally began negotiations with the Russian Minister to China, Putiyatin, on the issue of Russian prisoners of war. (To be continued......)